By John McCrank and Katanga Johnson
BOCA RATON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of a U.S. markets regulator said on Wednesday that while U.S. markets are responding well to the ongoing tragedy in the Ukraine, the situation has resulted in 'extreme volatility' and record global markets trading volume.
Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), told an audience at the International Futures Industry Conference that he has tasked the agency's surveillance unit to remain 'surgically focused' on analyzing trading for manipulative, inappropriate or disruptive conduct.
"At my direction, CFTC staff are using every tool the agency has to ensure that commodity markets continue to fairly and transparently serve the intended price discovery and risk management function," said Behnam, adding that "markets are reacting and operating as well as anticipated given the challenging situation."
(Corrects surname to 'Behnam' from 'Benham' in second and third paragraphs)